


Travelers, Welcome To The Twenty-First Century

by PaleNoFace



Series: Tree Bros Adventures [5]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Connor Deserves Happiness, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I know I just put Major Character Death but it makes sense I swear, M/M, Major Character Undeath, Mental Health Issues, Not too much, Out of Character, Saving the World, Slow To Update, Suicide, Teenagers Agents, They'll Get Better Eventually, They're Not Okay But They're Trying, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-04-01 07:57:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13993917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaleNoFace/pseuds/PaleNoFace
Summary: Traveler 6558. Tactician. Recorded time of death : September 1st, 14:22:48. Cause of death : snapped neck. Host name : Alana Beck.Traveler 6399. Medic. Recorded time of death : September 1st, 17:31:02. Cause of death : overdose. Host name : Evan Hansen.Traveler 6250. Team Leader. Recorded time of death : September 2nd, 07:24:01. Cause of death : car crash. Host name : Zoe Murphy.Traveler 6966. Engineer. Recorded time of death : September 2nd, 07:25:32. Cause of death : car crash. Host name : Jared Kleinman.Traveler 6401. Historian. Recorded time of death : September 5th, 21:49:10. Cause of death : strangulation. Host name : Connor Murphy.





	1. First Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I watched the first season of Travelers last week. It gave me ideas.
> 
> I know the tags may sound dark but this is supposed to be funny ! Well maybe not the first couple of chapters, but still ! Also, Treebros. Because I love them so much and I'm probably going down with this ship but, you know, fight me.

**Recorded Time of Death 1:29**

 

Alana Beck walks down the rows of desks, a pile of handouts stacked in her arms, dispensing them at her fellow classmates. She stops a few seconds at each table, making sure to give the correct number of copies every time.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:30**

 

She reaches the last row where, as usual, Connor Murphy is pretending to sleep. Behind her, the teacher starts explaining the lesson. Alana stands there, wondering if she has to wake him up or if it's better to let him sleep - or prentending to sleep. She doesn't notice her foot entagled in the backpack's shoulder straps.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:05**

 

She finally decides to leave the sheet next to Connor instead of waking him up and risking to suffer his anger. As she takes a step back, she suddently feels like her head is breaking in half and lets out a howl of pain. Papers fly everywhere as she drops on her knees, her head pressed between her hands in a vain attempt to end the suffering. Every second feels like an eternity. Four. It's like a heated knife is trying to cut through her brain. Three. A blood vessel explodes in her nose, taiting the lower part of her face in carmin. Two. She falls on the ground, her scream becoming acute. One. The world turns black.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:00**

 

Alana Beck, seventeen years, two months, three days, sixteen hours and one minute old, should have died from whiplash on September 1st, at 14:22:48.

 

**0:01**

 

She opens her eyes. Slowly raises on her elbows. Above her head, Connor and the teacher are looking down at her, pale and frantic. She instantly winces when a sharp pain crosses her head. She asks, as she meets the teacher's worried eyes :

 

"Can I be excused ? I need to go to the infirmary."

 

The teacher, of course, doesn't stop her.

 

**5:41**

 

She knocks at the office's door and enters, whiping her hands on her skirt. In front of her, in a comfortable office chair, sits the nurse. The woman looks up from her documents and stands up as soon as she reconizes her. She extends her hand in a formal greeting.

 

"Welcome to Twenty-First, I'm Traveler 2968. You must be..?"  
"6558," Alana answers, shaking the hand with a smile.

 

The nurse smiles back.

 

"You'll like it here," she says, before heading back to her desk. "Okay, do you need a quick briefing before you go ? Do you know the T.E.L.L.s of the rest of your team ?"  
"Yes please, and no I don't," she replies, sitting in the only chair in the immediate proximity.

 

The nurse puts on glasses and takes a binder from the pile before her, quickly browsing it before handing it over to her with a satisfied sound.

 

"Alana Beck. Seventeen. Part of the yearbook committee, the environmental protection club, the mathlete team, the soccer team and is also class representative."

 

Alana arks an eyebrow.

 

"A busy girl. Any way to get rid of some of those activities ?"  
"Not from the committee and the soccer team, I'm afraid, but you should be able quit the others whenever you can."  
"Good enough," she sighs, a little bit annoyed by her host. "Anything else, medically speaking ?"  
"You'll have to follow a strict medication for ADHD. Once at your house, find a pill bottle at your name and read rigorously the instructions. If you need anything else, feel free to come to me at any time. ...Well, school time."  
"Won't this interfere with Protocol Six ?" Alana then asks, frowning.  
"My mission is to greet you and your team and provide you any "adult" support you may need, so no, it doesn't," the nurse answers while typing fast on her keyboard. "From what I see, the next traveler to come is your Medic. His T.E.L.L. indicates his arrival in a little over three hours. You might want to meet him then and take care of him, his host will not be in a very good shape."  
"Very well. Before I go, can I ask for a last information ?" she says as she stands.  
"Of course," the nurse replies.  
"Is my family vegan ?"  
"Yes."  
"Shoot."

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

**Recorded Time of Death 7:05**

 

Evan Hansen is looking at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. Or better, he tries to get a look at himself through the tears. Today wasn't a good day, despite what he forced to believe that morning. He was already so fragile, so close to the edge... The first day of school only pushed him on the wrong side. It is too much to bear for a single human being. Too much distress, too much misery. He can't do it anymore. He just want to go to sleep and never get up again. And, actually, that's a pretty good idea.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 4:55**

 

He puts himself to bed, his meds in one hand and a water bottle in the other, careful not to drop anything. For a moment, he sits there, wondering if he's really doing this. But then he remembers the mocking laugh, the screams, the cold metal of the lockers when he got pushed against them. He remembers years and years and years of silent suffering, of bottled up feelings, of crying himself asleep. He's so tired of everything. He's disillusioned with the world, unable to maintain any spark of curiosity or kind for this reality that wants to break him. Between his sobs, he gulps down a bunch of pills.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 2:20**

 

He's done now. Waiting for the cold embrace of nothingness to come and take him. He waits. And waits. Ands waits. Any time now. He feels his stomach clenching with nausea but forces himself to stay put. It's too late now, no going back. The doorbell suddently rings and startles him. Whoever this is, they don't have to be here when he dies, so he outdoes his lack of social skills and get the door. By the time he's downstairs, he can't feel his hands anymore, his head is dizzy and he's pretty sure he's going to throw up. He opens the door.

 

"Alana ?"

 

His classmate smirks and pushes past him before closing the door behind the two of them. 

 

"Pardon me for this, Mister Hansen."

 

Evan is too confused to even react, until she takes a weird-looking syringe out of her pocket and presses it against his throat without a warning. He yelps and buckles over, falling hard on the ground. His stomach makes a backflip and suddently he's dragged into the toilet and he's vomiting violently. He distantly catch Alana's monologue.

 

"...won't stop you from dying ultimately but at least it won't compromise the arrival of my team-mate. It would have been a bit messy if he was transfered in a disfunctional body, don't you think ? Besides, the anihilator will help to canalize the toxins and help you to have your head clear for the last minutes of your life."

 

**Recorded Time of Death 1:00**

 

"What a-are you talking about ?" Evan asks, his head still half inside of the toilet bowl, but only earns another sweet smile as Alana brushes his hair off of his face.  
"Don't worry, Evan. You'll rest soon. Just hang tight for another few seconds."

Evan closes his eyes and pries for her to be right.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:10**

 

Pain. Pain and flashes. Burning metal in his head that won't go away. Evan just wants it to stop.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:00**

 

Evan Hansen, seventeen years, eleven months, three weeks, one hour and fifty-nine minutes old, should have died from overdose on September 1st, at 17:31:02.

 

**0:01**

 

Evan's body stops convulsing under Alana's fingers. He slowly shakes his head and grumbles, spitting some vomit residue, then takes a curious look around before his eyes land on her. He nodds and she does the same, helping him up.

 

"Hi, 6399. Welcome to Twenty-First."

 

Evan's face splits in half with a shiny grin.

 

"Thanks. Happy to have arrived in one piece."


	2. Gathering

**Recorded Time of Death 0:20**

 

Jared is in his car, waiting for the light to turn green. It's the second day of school and he already wishes to be anywhere but there. Not that he expecially hates school ; despites the general boredom that comes out of it, Jared isn't one to turn his back to learning. After all, knowledge is power, and he likes being powerful. But the idea of simply stepping into the school is putting him on edge : something is weird and he can't tell what. Which is super annoying in his opinion. Again, he likes to know what's going on. Lost in his thoughts, he turns right as soon as he can.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:20**

 

Zoe isn't thrilled to walk to school, but the car has been making weird noises the day before and she is not pushing he luck. So here she is, hastingly walking to school, her earphones blaring music and drowning the world all around. She has no clue where her brother is and, to be honest, she's not awake enough to care. She just wants to start her day already to be back in her bed. She accelerates.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:10**

 

His brain is suddently on fire. Or, at least, it's exactly what it feels as he shouts and stands on the brakes. It hurts like mad, a pain he's sure he has never encountered before. White hot pain that blinds him the girl right in front of his wheels.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:10**

 

She has no idea why her head is crossed by electric shocks, but here she is, spasming on the ground, crying and prying for everything to stop, for the pain to cease, for the drill in his brain to go away. She cries and she screams, unaware of the car that stopped in front of her.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:00**

 

Jared Kleinman, seventeen years, two months, one week, six days and twenty-two minutes, should have died from car crash on September 2nd, at 07:24:01.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:00**

 

Zoe Murphy, sixteen years, seven months, one week, one hour and twelve minutes, should have died from car crash on September 2nd, at 07:24:01.

 

**0:01**

 

He stumbles out of the vehicle, his eyes trying to settle with the unusual luminosity. Everything is so bright and shiny and colorful. He quickly refocuses and walks to the front of the car where he finds a girl in a bright red top wobbling on her feet. As he grabs her gently by the elbow to stabilize her, she blinks and tries to look at him.

 

"Hey, are you okay ?" he asks, and is suprised when he hears his new voice.  
"I... Think I am."

 

There is a second of silence, a short moment of tension to determine if it worked or not, but she eventually opens her mouth and carefully spells :

 

"Protocol two."

 

He smirks and suddently hugs her, earning a surprised squeak.

 

"Good to see you, Boss."

 

She hugs him back after a second, putting a little more strengh than necessary into it.

 

"Hi, 66."  
"Can I offer you a ride, Zoe Murphy ?" Jared smirks and points at the car, when they finally release each other.  
"It would be my pleasure, Jared Kleinman," she chuckles as she's already climbing in.

 

Four minutes later, they're entering the school's parking lot and pulling next to the doors, ready to find the rest of their team-mates. But before, geography.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

"You know what worries me ?" Evan asks as he absently picks at his steamed vegetables.  
"No, what ?" Alana says, looking up from her physics textbook.

 

Around them, the cafeteria is buzzing with unfamiliar activity : bribes of conversations, sporadic laugh bursts and constant clink of forks and knives aren't noises they are familiar with and they agreed to retreat in the back of the room to avoid any sensory overload.

 

"That Connor Murphy, he's supposed to be 01's host, right ?" he says, thumbing at the guy in question at the other side of the cafeteria.  
"Is that a problem ?"  
"Well, he dies from suicide, right. In the note he left, he says it's because of Alana Beck's, Evan Hansen's," he adds as he points at the two of them, "and Zoe Murphy's deaths. But none of them actually die in this reality, because of us, so he might not try to... You know," he gulps.  
"Off himself ?" she helps.  
"Yes."  
"Relax, Evan. If we see that he's doing better than expected, well, it's harsh to say, but we'll make his life a living hell, and he'll die at the right time, at the right spot. Don't worry for 01."

 

As he keeps fidgetting, she sighs and places her hand on his, and gives a light squeeze, stopping the nervous movement.

 

"Hey. I know you're afraid of a failure. He's gonna be okay. He's gonna land right into Murphy, and you're gonna be together again, soon. We just have to wait three more days," she murmurs to him in a soothing tone. "I promise, okay ? Now please, breathe and eat."

 

He nods and shakily exhales.

 

"Yeah, okay. Alright. Three days. No big deal."

 

Alana smiles and looks at her watch.

 

"They should be here anytime now."

 

And, as soon as she looks up, Jared and Zoe appear in the doorframe, visibly looking for someone. Alana waves in their direction and catches Zoe's attention. In a matter of seconds the four of them are hugging, out of sight in their corner. Jared is the first one to pull out, counting them :

 

"Wait, where is 01 ?"  
"Three more days," Alana and Evan reply at the same time, and Zoe frowns.  
"By the way, I suppose I have monitor Connor Murphy until then, right ?"  
"Yes Boss, if you could," Evan says, before catching himself. "Zoe. Sorry. It'll be hard to lose this habit."  
"Eeeeh, you can keep calling me Boss if you please," she smirks as she sits at the table, stealing a piece of tomato from Alana's meal.  
"I somewhat feel like you're the one who would be pleased by that," Jared mumbles as he rolls his eyes.

 

They laugh in concert and start debrieffing about their respective families and personal informations to see if everything concords with what they already knew, and they're so engrossed in their conversation that no one notice Evan, looking every once in a while over his shoulder, in the direction of the second Murphy sibling.


	3. Discord Update !

Hello ! Quick update to share with you the Discord server I host and where there are a whole bunch of very nice people ! Come by whenever you feel like saying hello ! :)

Link [here](https://discord.gg/egaKgJZ) !


	4. Full Squad

"I hate this, you have no idea how much I hate this," Evan grumbles as he carefuly shakes the paint bomb.

 

Next to him, Jared is untangling two pairs of rubber gloves while Alana keeps watch for them at the end of the hallway. The two boys rolled their sleeves way up so no droplet of paint would give them away, but Evan is still nervous. And feels guilty. A lot.

 

"Come on, we only have a couple of minutes," Jared says as he looks at his watch.  
"It still doesn't feel right. We're killing someone."  
"Oh, come on. We're pushing him to do something he's supposed to do anyway."  
"It doesn't mean I like it."  
"For the love of God, tag that fucking locker and let's get out of here !"

 

Evan exhales, shakes the bomb one last time for good measure and starts his work. Soon enough, the thick black letters spread neatly on the scratched blue paint of the locker. _**DIE, FREAK.**_ He takes a step back to admire his work. Welp. At least no one can miss it.

 

"So inventive, Evan, I'm shooketh," Jared rolls his eyes playfully, earning a jab in the ribs.  
"Shut up, like you would have done any better."  
"Guys, we need to move," Alana hisses suddenly. " _Now._ "

 

Jared snatches the bomb and puts it in a ziploc before throwing it in his bag. The gloves end in Evan's pocket, away from snooping eyes. They plan to throw everything once they get away from the school, erasing any evidence from the crime scene.

 

As the hallway fills with students, a dead weight settles on Evan's stomach. Fortunately, Alana's locker isn't far away from Connor's and they have full view on the apocalypse that is about to go down.

 

But it doesn't go down. In fact, while a bunch of people gather around to see what happened to the school's property, Connor stays away from it. He's standing there, a few meters away, almost hidden by the crowd, but doesn't get any closer. The line of his mouth is hard, his jaw clenched, his complexion greyer than ever and his eyes veiled. He looks sick. Evan feels sick.

 

"Oh God, I think I'm going to throw up."

 

His voice comes out hoarse, but it's loud enough to catch Alana's attention. She spares him a worried glance before ransacking her bag, pulling a familiar syringe out of it and shoving it in his hand. He automatically pushes it inside his sleeve, not wanting anyone to see it.

 

"There, take this. Your host might still feel the effects of the overdose."  
"Holy shit, man, you're green," Jared points out as he hushes him into the nearest bathroom.

 

With no surprise, Evan throws up his lunch.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

"You sure about this ?" Alana asks for what sounds like the tenth time.  
"Affirmative," Zoe confirms over the phone. "He left the house half an hour ago. I can't follow him. Are you guys in place ?"  
"Evan is still losing his shit," Jared calls in the distance before a loud smack makes him yelp. "Why do you have to be so violent ?!"  
"Anyway," the young girl sighs, back to her cellphone. "Evan has a bunch of medicine and bandages ready. I put us at the only entrance of the orchad, so... Hm. We're all set."  
"At least one of you is competent in there," the other groans, sounding very done with her squad.  
"Hey, boss ?" Evan says, his voice coming closer. "What are our statistics of failure on this one ?"  
"Still one out of ten," she replies, "unless you count the fact that we already disrupted the continuum of space-time by stopping our hosts from dying."  
"I'd like very much to count this fact, please !"  
"Maybe calm down a little ? Yeesh," Zoe frowns.  
"Sorry. It's the anxiety. Hard to control."  
"...Anyway," she huffs. "I'm recalculating everything, hang on. Okay, so apparently there are still seven chances out of ten to get 01 safe and sound inside his new body."  
"Okay, not to sound rude or anything, but... Don't people usually kill themselves at home ?" Evan asks again. "Like... It's easier. I think. Is it ?"  
"Ev, maybe you should sit down."  
"He's got a point, though," Jared hums. "The Murphy family must be really fucked up for him not to even feel safe enough in his own house. I mean, a home is supposed to be a safe space, isn't it ?"  
"Not necessarly," Alana says. "Sometimes the family environment can be even more toxic than the rest of the world. Zoe ?"  
"You're right. It's only been an evening and I can already tell that this family is a special brand of Hell. No wonder the older Murphy struggles with mental health when there is zero communication around him."  
"Hum, guys ? He's here."

 

And with that, the line goes dead, leaving Zoe completely in the dark about what is happening to her team.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

**Recorded Time of Death 4:00**

 

Connor is so done with everything. It's not even anger at this point, just- Nothing. Emptiness. Apathy. No goal, nothing to live for. What does he has, anyway ? Books, weed. That's it. No real connexion to anyone anymore, after years of pushing people away. Every step is slow, heavier than the Earth itself. It's almost like he's stuck in a nightmare in slow motion that doesn't seem to ever end. Is it too much to ask for rest ? _God, he's so fucking tired._ He doesn't want to exist anymore.

 

Everything he touches is falling apart anyway. For a long time he thought he was cursed, but turns out he's just a bad person. He's doing a favor to the world by erasing himself from the picture. Good fucking riddance.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 1:45**

 

He's been thinking about it a lot in the last few years. Compared the options, weighted every outcome carefully. Done estimations. There is no stepping back now. His arms are already numb. He can't feel his legs anymore. His head is buzzing slightly. His eyes don't focus as well as they used to. The belt's leather is digging in the skin of his throat. Air is becoming rare.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 1:00**

 

There is movement around him. Familiar faces. Hah. How ironic is that. There are voices, too, but they're already too far for him to get any of what is said. At some point, one of them almost yells, their tone somewhat hysterical.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:15**

 

The belt is untied and he falls on the ground. Hard. Even through the chemical haze he put himself in, he can tell that his knee bumps against a pretty sharp stone. The pression around his neck is gone. He feels a light pain in the neck, like someone is stabbing him with a needle or something. But he's drifting, and he's numb, and he really doesn't care anymore. It's finally over for him. End of the road.

 

**Recorded Time of Death 0:00**

 

Connor Murphy, seventeen years, seven months, one week, five days, one hour and fifty minutes, should have died from strangulation on September 5th, at 21:49:10.

 

**0:01**

 

He blinks a few times, the fog clearing quickly in his head. Despite the advanced hour, the light of the moon makes him flinch.

 

"Eeeeasy does it," someone says on his left as they help him sitting upright.  
"Wow, car- careful !" he grumbles and grabs their arm, his head throbbing painfully.

 

He blinks again, his vision coming into focus. Around him are three high school student, and it takes a second for his modified memory to kick in. Right. Alana Beck. Should have died three days ago. Evan Hansen. Same. Jared Kleinman. Two days.

 

"Eh, looks like I did it."

 

Evan releases a strangled sob through his smile. Alana has a discreet sigh of relief. Jared grins.

 

"We thought we lost you for a second," the young medic says, his hand tightening gently on Connor Murphy's shoulder - no, _his_ shoulder. He places his own hand on it and squeezes it back.  
"How are you feeling ?" Alana calls softly.  
"Like shit, not gonna lie."

 

He tries to stand up but immediately falls back on his butt, his limbs giving up under him as soon as he puts weight on them.

 

"Hey, now, stay down," Evan intervenes and pushes him back on the grass. "Your host took pretty potent sleeping pills, you should give some time to wear off."  
"Nice to see you're whole, jackass," Jared says as he pats him gently on his other shoulder.  
"Good to see you too, asshat."  
"I'm gonna call Zoe," Alana declares and fishes her phone out of her jacket.

 

Connor turns back to Evan and looks at him from top to bottom, making him flush. He smirks.

 

"You look good in blond."  
"Thanks," he replies with another watery smile. "You don't look too bad yourself."  
"You'll have all the time to smooch each other later," Jared scoffs. "Right now I think that we have more important matters at hand, like, how the heck are we supposed to hide this mark ?" he adds as he waves at Connor's throat.  
"Ever heard of concealer, Kleinman ?" Zoe asks, jumping down from the gate.  
"Boss ! I thought you couldn't get out !"  
"I had too, with no one keeping in touch with me..." she rolls her eyes, but there isn't real fire behind her words. "Anyway. Sup, 01. Welcome to the Twenty-One," she smiles, giving him a quick hug.  
"How did you get here so quickly ?" Evan asks, Alana silently joining his side.  
"I was already on my way when you hung out. Took me only a few minutes with the car to come here."  
"Neat. What do we do now ?" Connor asks. "Going home or something ?"  
"Not so fast !" Evan screetches. "You just landed, you need at least a couple of minutes to let the med sink in."  
"You just want to keep cuddling him."  
"Excuse me, who's the medic here ?" Evan crosses his arms on his chest, daring Jared to deny him his status.  
"Boys, boys ! Could you please not fight ? We have work to do and not a lot of time."  
"Sorry, Boss."  
"Alana, what should we do, next ?"

 

Alana clears her throat and straightens herself, almost military-like.

 

"First of all we need to establish a base of operation. We won't go far if we can only meet at school and in public places. We need somewhere we can plan our actions and where Jared can set himself to work. We will need blackboards for Connor and... A direct connection to 2968, because she'll be the only one who will provide Evan enough material to make medicine."  
"Sounds good to me," Zoe says. "The Murphy house is out of the question, though. Cynthia is a housewife and she will notice anything out of the usual."  
"Same here," Jared agrees. "The Kleinmans work from home, both of them. No wonder Jared was always out of the house."  
"And I have like five siblings," Alana adds. "At least. It would have been suspicious of me to ask a precise number."  
"Guess it only leaves my house ?" Evan complies. "Heidi is not home most of the time, it might work in our favor."  
"Then it's settled. Now, can someone help me ? I'm tired of staying on the ground."

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments, it feeds the author's determination !!


End file.
